University of Venda

Phenotypic, bioactive and metabolomic diversity among indigenous Southern African underutilised monkey orange (Strychnos spinosa Lam.) fruit accessions

Strychnos spinosa Lam. is an indigenous African fruit tree with considerable phenotypic diversity, yet the extent to which visible fruit morphotypes correspond to biochemical and metabolic variation remains poorly resolved. This study integrated fruit morphology, physicochemical...

Linking environmental variability to diatom assemblages in seasonal wetlands

Seasonal wetlands undergo recurrent inundation and contraction, creating strong hydrochemical variability and non–independent observations within pans. We tested whether this variability translated into diatom differentiation in five pans within each of two South African Ramsar w...

Is this small green orb-web spider from South Africa, Araniella cucurbitina (Clerck, 1757)?

Araniella cucurbitina (Clerck, 1757) is a small orb-weaving spider in the family Araneidae. It is a well-known species with awide distribution found throughout the Palearctic region, including most of Europe, parts of Western and Central Asia, and extending to China, Korea, and J...

Is this small green orb-web spider from South Africa, Araniella cucurbitina (Clerck, 1757)?

Araniella cucurbitina (Clerck, 1757) is a small orb-weaving spider in the family Araneidae. It is a well-known species with awide distribution found throughout the Palearctic region, including most of Europe, parts of Western and Central Asia, and extending to China, Korea, and J...

More on the beetle crab spider Mystaria rufolimbata Simon, 1895 (Araneae: Thomisidae) from South Africa

Mystaria Simon, 1895, is an African genus represented by 15 species. The type species, Mystaria rufolimbata Simon, 1895, was described from Sierra Leone and is currently known from eight African countries. The species name rufolimbata means “red-bordered” or “having a reddish mar...

Predictors of contraceptive use at first sexual intercourse among adolescent girls in Ratlou local municipality, South Africa

Adolescent girls are vulnerable to unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and sexually transmitted infections when contraception is not used at sexual debut. Understanding the factors influencing contraceptive use at first sex is important for informing adolescent sexual and r...

Perceptions of reproductive health among indigenous communities in Africa: A systematic review of cultural beliefs, practices, and health outcomes

Diverse conceptualisation of reproductive health is a major public health problem in Africa, especially among indigenous communities were cultural beliefs shape health behaviours and outcomes. This review, following the PRISMA framework, looked at how indigenous African people un...

Unpacking the integration of HIV PrEP into family planning services for adolescent girls and young women in Vhembe District, South Africa: key success facilitators and barriers

Universal access to sexual and reproductive health services for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Sub-Saharan Africa is limited. As a result, AGYW in South Africa lack access to and use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), exposing them to HIV at an early stage. Several f...

The Response of Juvenile Dichrostachys cinerea and Terminalia sericea Savanna Plants to Cutting Disturbances in the Nylsvley Nature Reserve, South Africa

Bush encroachment by woody species threatens biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and rangeland productivity in savanna ecosystems. Understanding how juvenile woody plants respond to cutting at different times of the year is essential for developing effective management strategie...

Spatial Variation in Heavy-Metal Bioaccumulation and Associated Physiological Stress Biomarkers in Bufo regularis Across Three Different Locations in Southwestern Nigeria

Urbanisation is a major driver of environmental contamination, yet its physiological consequences for amphibians in rapidly developing regions remain poorly understood. This study investigated spatial variation in heavy-metal bioaccumulation and associated physiological stress bi...

A Repeated-Evaluation Comparison of Traditional, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning Survival Models Across Static and Longitudinal Data

Survival analysis plays a central role in medical research. Although the Cox proportional hazards (CoxPH) model remains the standard approach, machine learning and deep learning methods have been increasingly adopted. However, many published comparisons have relied on a single tr...

An Ubuntu Perspective on Community Engagement in Indigenous Knowledge Systems Research: Insights from South Africa

Background Community engagement is widely recognised in research, yet in many African contexts, it remains procedural rather than meaningful, highlighting the need for approaches that foster genuine relationships. This is especially evident in indigenous knowledge systems researc...

Community-centred Digitalisation of Indigenous Agricultural Knowledge: An Empirically Derived Framework from Vhavenda Groundnut Farming, South Africa

Background Indigenous agricultural knowledge plays a vital role in sustaining biodiversity, food security, cultural identity, and environmental stewardship. Despite increasing recognition of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), much Indigenous agricultural knowledge remains orally...

Dry Anaerobic Digestion as a Waste-to-Energy Pathway: A Systematic Review of Performance, Scalability, and Deployment Evidence from 2010 to 2025

Dry anaerobic digestion (DAD) is increasingly recognized as a promising waste-to-energy pathway for treating high-solids organic wastes. However, the extent to which the contemporary peer-reviewed literature addresses conditions relevant to scalable implementation remains unclear...

Feeding practices, growth and micronutrient status (iron, vitamin A and iodine) among breastfed infants younger than 12 months in Thulamela Municipality, South Africa: a cross-sectional study protocol

Background Adequate infant nutrition is essential for optimal growth, cognitive development, and overall health. Although breastfeeding is the recommended source of nutrition during infancy, micronutrient deficiencies, particularly iron, vitamin A, iodine deficiencies, and anaemi...

Village chickens enhance food security and income for vulnerable groups along the urban-rural gradient, a scoping review

Abstract A sustainable and healthy food system refers to meeting food and nutrition security and environmental welfare for all, with no cost to future generations. Village chickens promote sustainable and healthy food systems through recycling home-kitchen waste into edible prote...

Father Absence and Masculinity Formation Among Young Men: A Public Practical Theological Exploration of Emotional Development and Relational Identity

Background The lack of a father figure poses a significant challenge not only for society but also for how boys form their own identity through emotion and personal growth. While there has been a large amount of research published on how boys form masculinity based on behaviour a...

THE EXPERIENCES OF BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS WITH ENGORGED BREASTS IN SELECTED CLINICS OF VHEMBE DISTRICT, LIMPOPO PROVINCE: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATUR REVIEW

Breastfeeding is widely recognized as the optimal method of infant feeding due to its nutritional, immunological, developmental, and maternal health benefits. Despite these advantages, many mothers experience breastfeeding-related complications, particularly breast engorgement, n...

A protocol for developing a culturally relevant framework to promote Indigenous Games as a strategy to enhance youth wellbeing in rural communities in Limpopo Province

<ns5:p>South Africa has the highest rate of non-communicable diseases in the Southern African Development Community. The South African government has developed sports and recreation legislation to provide infrastructure that addresses non-communicable diseases and promotes health...

Machine Learning-Based Crisis Detection Framework for Banking Systems: A Case Study of Nigeria

Banking crises are a persistent threat to macroeconomic stability in emerging markets, where conventional econometric monitoring frameworks often fail to capture non-linear macro-financial relationships. This paper examines whether machine learning algorithms can improve the dete...